Colonial Meriwether Families - Person Sheet
Colonial Meriwether Families - Person Sheet
NameDr. Samuel Pryor 
424, M
424, MDeath26 Jul 1765, Virginia4
OfAmelia County, VA.
FlagsVolume 1
FatherRobert Pryor , M
MotherMrs. Pryor , F
Spouses
1Frances Morton 24,102, GJ1C-WT, F
24,102, GJ1C-WT, FBirthabt 1720, Richmond County, Virginia86
Death07 Jul 1777, Virginia
BurialUnknown, Virginia103
Alias/AKAMary Frances Morton, Mary Pryor
RelationshipShe was a half-sister of John Morton Jordan.
FlagsVolume 1
FatherJohn Morton Jr. , M (~1689-1728)
MotherMary Mountjoy , F (~1693-1730)
ChildrenSamuel , M (1762-1812)
Other Marriage notes for Dr. Samuel Pryor
Married first about 1720 Prudence Thornton, dau of William Thornton of Gloucester.
Will notes for Dr. Samuel Pryor
Goochland County Will Book 10, p. 190 431
Biography notes for Frances (Spouse 1)
Frances (Morton) Meriwether Pryor
© The Meriwether Society, Inc.
Frances was born about 1720 in Richmond County, Virginia, the daughter of John Morton (~1689–~1727) and Mary Mountjoy (~1693–bef 1733).
About 1740 in Virginia, she married Col. Nicholas Meriwether, son of David Meriwether and Anne Holmes, his wife.
Frances and Nicholas had eight known children: Nicholas (1741–1741), John (1743–1743), Reuben (1743–1794), George (1745–1782), Anne (1747–?), Nicholas (1749–1828), Mary (1752–1786) and Frances/Francis (1754–1757). They resided mostly in Goochland county, where most of the children were born and where Nicholas died in 1758.
After the death of Nicholas Meriwether, she married Dr. Samuel Pryor in 1760. They had one son, Samuel, born 12 Jan 1762 in Goochland County. Dr. Pryor died in 1765.
Frances died 7 Jul 1777, most likely in Goochland County. Where she and Dr. Pryor are buried is not known.
Her only son by Dr. Pryor, Samuel Jr., married Salley Drumwright in 1791. It is said they removed to Kentucky, where they had several sons and daughters. She evidently died and he then married Mary Curd (1769–1833). Samuel died Dec 1811 in Kentucky. A son of the second marriage, James (1802–1885), was the judge of the Eighth Circuit Court for the state of Kentucky (abt 1855) and professor of law in the U. of Louisville, Kentucky.
© The Meriwether Society, Inc.
Frances was born about 1720 in Richmond County, Virginia, the daughter of John Morton (~1689–~1727) and Mary Mountjoy (~1693–bef 1733).
About 1740 in Virginia, she married Col. Nicholas Meriwether, son of David Meriwether and Anne Holmes, his wife.
Frances and Nicholas had eight known children: Nicholas (1741–1741), John (1743–1743), Reuben (1743–1794), George (1745–1782), Anne (1747–?), Nicholas (1749–1828), Mary (1752–1786) and Frances/Francis (1754–1757). They resided mostly in Goochland county, where most of the children were born and where Nicholas died in 1758.
After the death of Nicholas Meriwether, she married Dr. Samuel Pryor in 1760. They had one son, Samuel, born 12 Jan 1762 in Goochland County. Dr. Pryor died in 1765.
Frances died 7 Jul 1777, most likely in Goochland County. Where she and Dr. Pryor are buried is not known.
Her only son by Dr. Pryor, Samuel Jr., married Salley Drumwright in 1791. It is said they removed to Kentucky, where they had several sons and daughters. She evidently died and he then married Mary Curd (1769–1833). Samuel died Dec 1811 in Kentucky. A son of the second marriage, James (1802–1885), was the judge of the Eighth Circuit Court for the state of Kentucky (abt 1855) and professor of law in the U. of Louisville, Kentucky.
Other Marriage notes for Frances (Spouse 1)
After the death of Nicholas, she married Dr. Samuel Prior/Pryor on 27 Aug 1760 in Goochland County; they were the parents of one son, Samuel (1762–1812). Dr. Prior died in 1765. Son Samuel married Sally Drumwright in 1791.
Research notes for Frances (Spouse 1)
^DEATH ARR has Dec 1772, but she is mentioned in the will of her son, George, dated 7 Jul 1775.
Research notes for Samuel & Frances (Family)
Samuel Pryor and Frances Morton: Was Frances Mrs. Meriwether?
Over the winter I was contacted by a researcher who was trying to piece together the line of Dr. Samuel Pryor and his wife Frances Meriwether, nee Morton. Before her marriage to Samuel, Frances married Nicholas Meriwether, a man from a prominent Goochland County, VA family. In this first marriage, Frances gave birth to a son in about 1745 and he was named George Meriwether. After the death of her first husband, Frances married Samuel Pryor on August 27, 1760 per the records of St. James Northam Parish in Goochland County. The parish records also record that Samuel and Frances were the parents of young Samuel Pryor who was baptized on January 12, 1762.
The researcher points outs that Frances was married to Nicholas Meriwether from 1740 to about 1758, but a son John Alexander Pryor born about 1750 is attributed to her marriage to Pryor. She wisely questioned whether Frances was having children with Samuel Pryor while she was still married to Meriwether.
Now that I’m looking at what I have on Samuel and Frances, I question the children attributed to their marriage: Nancy, John Alexander, and Marietta. Where did these names come from? What’s the proof that the right people are in the right positions in this branch of the Pryor tree?
While doing a little online research on this union I found The Encyclopedia of Louisville By John E. Kleber states that Frances and her first husband were the parents of George Meriwether and Nicholas Meriwether born in 1745 and 1749 respectively. Yet… here’s my real beef… Dr. Samuel Pryor the son of Col. William Pryor and the husband of Frances Meriwether was born somewhere about 1740. Was Samuel only five years younger than George Meriwether, his step-son?
I looked for records that would prove the relationship. The only record is the marriage of Samuel Pryor and Frances cited in the William and Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine, volume 15 published in 1915. The magazine published the St. James Northam parish records, including the marriage of “1760, Aug. 27. Samuel Pryor , of Amelia County, & Frances Morton, of this parish.
There are mostly second-hand references to Frances Morton as the same person who was the widow of Nicholas Meriwether:
1915 – The Register of the Kentucky State Historical Society, Volume 13 by Kentucky Historical Society. A letter from Judge William S. Pryor to Henry Strother dated December 1, 1914.
The Meriwethers and Their Connections, published 1991 by the Meriwether Society references a earlier publication, “Frances Morton about 1740. After his death she married Samuel Pryor. Frances Morton was listed as “Mary Frances Pryor” in Louisa HA Minor’s genealogy in 1892.”
Is this a Pryor genealogy question that people searching their Virginia Pryors have know about for a long time? Is there a source to answer it?
http://tennesseepryors.wordpress.com/2011/05/24/sa...nces-mrs-meriwether/
Over the winter I was contacted by a researcher who was trying to piece together the line of Dr. Samuel Pryor and his wife Frances Meriwether, nee Morton. Before her marriage to Samuel, Frances married Nicholas Meriwether, a man from a prominent Goochland County, VA family. In this first marriage, Frances gave birth to a son in about 1745 and he was named George Meriwether. After the death of her first husband, Frances married Samuel Pryor on August 27, 1760 per the records of St. James Northam Parish in Goochland County. The parish records also record that Samuel and Frances were the parents of young Samuel Pryor who was baptized on January 12, 1762.
The researcher points outs that Frances was married to Nicholas Meriwether from 1740 to about 1758, but a son John Alexander Pryor born about 1750 is attributed to her marriage to Pryor. She wisely questioned whether Frances was having children with Samuel Pryor while she was still married to Meriwether.
Now that I’m looking at what I have on Samuel and Frances, I question the children attributed to their marriage: Nancy, John Alexander, and Marietta. Where did these names come from? What’s the proof that the right people are in the right positions in this branch of the Pryor tree?
While doing a little online research on this union I found The Encyclopedia of Louisville By John E. Kleber states that Frances and her first husband were the parents of George Meriwether and Nicholas Meriwether born in 1745 and 1749 respectively. Yet… here’s my real beef… Dr. Samuel Pryor the son of Col. William Pryor and the husband of Frances Meriwether was born somewhere about 1740. Was Samuel only five years younger than George Meriwether, his step-son?
I looked for records that would prove the relationship. The only record is the marriage of Samuel Pryor and Frances cited in the William and Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine, volume 15 published in 1915. The magazine published the St. James Northam parish records, including the marriage of “1760, Aug. 27. Samuel Pryor , of Amelia County, & Frances Morton, of this parish.
There are mostly second-hand references to Frances Morton as the same person who was the widow of Nicholas Meriwether:
1915 – The Register of the Kentucky State Historical Society, Volume 13 by Kentucky Historical Society. A letter from Judge William S. Pryor to Henry Strother dated December 1, 1914.
The Meriwethers and Their Connections, published 1991 by the Meriwether Society references a earlier publication, “Frances Morton about 1740. After his death she married Samuel Pryor. Frances Morton was listed as “Mary Frances Pryor” in Louisa HA Minor’s genealogy in 1892.”
Is this a Pryor genealogy question that people searching their Virginia Pryors have know about for a long time? Is there a source to answer it?
http://tennesseepryors.wordpress.com/2011/05/24/sa...nces-mrs-meriwether/